Friday July 4th, 2008 @ 10:31 AM
I had an off centre labret pierced two weeks ago with a CBR. I had pretty bad swelling for about 10 days and recently it has gone down. My piercing is laying more to the side now and it feels alot more comfortable. But seems to have moved. I read about a process called nesting. At first I thought it was that, but I noticed that there was a small patch of bruising at the bottom of the ring on the innerside of my lip. It looks like migration (I’ve delt with surface piercings before) and I have never had an oral piercing (my baby brother also clocked me in the lip so it might be that). I was wondering if what has happened was just nesting, or if it is migration or even rejection. Can labrets actually reject? Because I want this to be a long term piercing because I adore it.
Thanks!
This is why I am not a fan of fitting rings in a freshly pierced lip. The swelling and the constrictive nature of a BCR can cause the piercing to migrate during the initial healing stages. Also, they tend to move around alot more freely once the swelling subsides and this alone can irritate the piercing thus lengthening the healing time. It is unlikely that your piercing will reject. It would have to have been pierced ridiculously shallow for this to happen but it may well settle in a placement a little off to where it was originally pierced. You could ask your piercer to pop a sterile labret stud in there but to be honest, this is a little like shutting the stable door after the horse has bolted. Keep up with your aftercare, baby it, try not to play with it and hope for the best.
4 / 4 votes 
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Posted by Tiff Badhairdo | Permalink | Comments
Thursday June 26th, 2008 @ 7:11 PM
About two weeks ago I got a vertical labret piercing. One night the ball went straight through the hole and I had to pop it back through. For a few days it was just swollen but now it has raised tissue around it in the front. I really don’t want this to be a keloid, but I am not sure. I went to one piercer and they told me it was fine and that tissue was there because I ripped it. The other piercer told me it was a start of a keloid. I am totally confused now. I don’t know if I should take it out. The only thing is I don’t want to have a bump there for the rest of my life. I know I will have a scar, but not a bump. I need some help on what to do to cure it or if I should remove it.
Unfortunately, way too many people, including way too many piercers, toss around the word “keloid” as soon as they see a bump on a piercing. At the risk of making rash generalizations, any piercer who claims you have a keloid on your piercing probably doesn’t know what the hell they are talking about. Now, I’m not saying keloids never develop on piercings…because they do. However, true keloids happen so rarely, chances are very few piercers have actually seen a real keloid. Piercers who use that word to describe small bumps on piercings are typically not well-educated/well-experienced in their craft…which clearly sucks….especially when it comes to information that is readily/easily available.
I will now climb down from my high-horse of snob-hobbery and try to get to the heart of the matter.
The bump on your piercing is just that…a bump. It’s almost certainly there because the ball of the jewelry got pulled into the piercing which made it down right angry. Your body generated some excess tissue as an indication of it’s pissed-offness, as well as a bit of a defense mechanism against further irritation.
Given how new your piercing is, the chances of that bump being permanent is very small. Be extra careful with your piercing during the rest of the healing period. Once the piercing heals a bit more and toughens up a bit more, that bump should start to go away.
And remember…the next time a piercer tells you that you have a keloid…just slap them. Immediately.
I kid!
I kid?
10 / 10 votes
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Posted by Derek Lowe | Permalink | 1 Comment
Friday June 20th, 2008 @ 9:06 PM
Warren,
I have just read your post about bioplast, and was wondering what alternative you would reccomend. I had my side labret pierced 2 weeks ago and the first week was good, but the second I found myself biting the bar by accident. I even chipped a little bit off my tooth, and even worse, the second time I bit it so hard the ball got pulled under my skin, which was quite a disgusting experience. To save my teeth I thought it would be best to get a bioplast bar…also to save my job as my boss did not like the look of my latest piercing and I told him I would meet him halfway and not take it out, but put something less visible in there.
Obviously its quite a new piercing, but I’m quite worried now about the bioplast bar, is there some other kind of retainer you would recommend?
cheers.
fearata,
Thank you for actually taking the time to research through AskBME to then make a informed question on something that is perhaps not already answered. It helps make the AskBME staff members days just so much easier when people do what you did 
There is a couple reasons why you could be experiencing what you are experiencing. 1) The piercings are not placed in the ideal position and thus enabling you to easily bite down on the discs/posts if you’re not careful (ie: while eating,etc) 2) It could simply be yourself and the natural human instinct to want to nibble on/play with the piercing. When I had my tongue piercings and my labret piercings, I was always getting called out on the fact I would play with them, even though I didn’t realize I was.
However the problem with you getting the BioPlast jewelry is this…If you are currently chewing/biting on your jewelry, you’re going to do the exact same thing with the BioPlast. Which the result of the occasional gnaw/bite on a plastic bar, is that you’re going to break the disc portion clean off. I see it happen all the time, with customers that come in looking for more bioplast. Essentially if you purchased a BioPlast labret stud, it would be a “money pit” for you , as you would be buying one every month or so depending on how often you bite down on the bar.
For something less visible, and in a fresh piercing (2 weeks old), I would strongly suggest you look into purchasing a Quartz Labret Retainer. Quartz Glass is a strong durable glass that’s autoclaveable and has had relatively great success in fresh piercings.
However the hard part is going to be your ability to try and focus yourself into not biting down on the jewelry, if you’re doing so by way of “playing with it”. But if its a result of placement, then the only way to resolve the problem would be to re-adjust the placement by letting it heal up and re-doing the piercing in a better position.
0 / 2 votes 
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Posted by Warren Hiller | Permalink | 5 Comments
Thursday June 12th, 2008 @ 9:04 PM
Alrighty, well i’m planning on piercing my lip when I get the money and needle and stuff to do it. I know it’s a pretty dumb idea…but yeah…. any tips on placement and ring size and stuff?
Nope…Sorry the “Piercing For Dummies” booklet isn’t scheduled to come out until 2012, but then the Mayan Calendar will come to pass and the world will die a horrible horrible death.
Oh I’m sorry that was for the last caller…Ok…I’m getting something…Its vague right now, just hold on….Ok, got it! You will die a horrible horrible death!
The reality is without being visibly capable of inspecting your lips, your gums and teeth,etc nobody will be able to provide you with any adequate answers.
The reality is properly done piercings ARE NOT SUPER EASY (Although quite often people will claim it is), they do require specially trained eye to know what placement is ideal, what gauge jewelry to use as well as length,etc.
My advise to you is to not spend the money on buying the stuff yourself (needle, jewelry, surgical prep,etc,etc,etc) because the reality is after you pay for all that, you might as well have gotten it done at a professional studio.
Now by saying that though also know I am not 100% AGAINST DIY piercings, just wanted to make that clear. My advise to you is that if you are insistent on doing the piercing yourself, is to visit a reputable studio and discuss with the piercer the concept of them assisting you doing the piercing. This means you’ll be in a studio with a trained professional capable of handling any and all situations that may occur. As well as they will be able to help you and show you how exactly to do the procedure yourself, and be able to use the proper jewelry size/type,etc. The only difference is when it comes time to pass the needle through the body and insert the jewelry, it’ll be you doing it and not the piercer.
15 / 19 votes 
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Posted by Warren Hiller | Permalink | Comments
Thursday June 12th, 2008 @ 8:51 PM
HI, I can’t find jewellery to fit my nipple piercing apart from a straight barbell. I have a large nipple and I’d love to get a stirrup or a ring, but on all the online jewellery stores they don’t have anything like that that’s big enough. They all have a maximum length of 16mm. Any ideas on where I could find things to fit? Also, I can’t find anything to put in my tragus piercing as well… I made it bleed when i tried to put a ring in there as the curved ring stabbed into the inside of my piercing and I couldn’t get it through. And again, they don’t make stirrups in the right size - it would either be too big or it would be squezzing it tightly. Please help!
Welcome to the wonderful world of buying jewelry online! Tell her what she’s won Bob!
The reality Kayp75 is that the best way to obtain jewelry for your piercings is to actually *gasp* walk into a piercing studio and speak with them about obtaining the jewelry you want/desire.
Now people reading this, I know it’s hard…The really real world is be so tuff and scurry…But when it comes to purchasing jewelry online, you most likely not always find what you’re looking for. Sure there are about a billion sites online selling all manner of jewelry from half decent to utter complete crap that will rust in your face. Online shops, in my eyes, are better for individuals who know EXACTLY what the exact measurements of their jewelry requirements are and then obtaining very “unique” pieces you perhaps cannot purchase via your local studio. Also know its best to run by the local shop first to see if they can actually obtain what you’re looking for.
So Kayp75 just hit up your local studio(s) and see if they can obtain what you’re looking for. What gauge size is your piercing? Because Off the top of my head I can state: Straight Bars, Circular Barbells, and Rings(CBR’s) and even Smooth Segment Rings can be obtained in much larger gauge sizes. So I’d say simply just go to the studios and inquire about making a jewelry order as there are quite a few companies out there manufacturing awesome jewelry and aren’t opposed to making something they don’t regularly sell.
Also if you’re having trouble putting in your jewelry, again, visit the local piercing studio for assistance…The reason I say that is because that’s what we’re there for, for everything you might need be that: Piercing, Jewelry Ordering, Jewelry Insertion, Jewelry Removal,etc.
Because realistically if customers stop going to local shops for these services, what’s the point in any of us staying in this business for? Many think its a cool awesome job that gets you in the sack with the opposite sex, but that’s not it…Well, sometimes it is for some of us, but most of the time it doesn’t.
So guys…PLEASE SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL SHOPS!!! And if you think your local shop sucks…Then travel to find a good shop!
7 / 15 votes
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Posted by Warren Hiller | Permalink | 4 Comments
Thursday June 5th, 2008 @ 11:33 PM
I had my lower right lip pierced roughly three weeks ago with a SS labret stud. A few days ago I went back to the shop to have that piece switched out for a ring, as I found it more comfortable and easier to eat/talk with.
I noticed the next morning that the ring was a bit too tight and was causing more scar tissue to build up as it adjusted its placement and configuration. I since switched back to the labret stud, but I’m wondering if that lump of scar tissue will go away…or if I’m stuck with that hard wad of nastiness forever.
The scar tissue is a result of the irritation from the ring being too small. The ring may have simply been the wrong size to begin with. It’s also possible that your lip re-swelled a bit because of the jewelry change, thereby making a ring that normally would have fit okay, too small.
Regardless of the reason, the scar tissue should go away if you can keep from irritating the piercing. Changing back to the labret stud was probably your best option. For the duration of the healing, be very careful with your piercing and things should return to normal.
2 / 2 votes
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Posted by Derek Lowe | Permalink | Comments
Saturday May 31st, 2008 @ 9:39 AM
Hello,
I’ve been having a series of issues it seems. I was pierced twice right next to each other on the side of my lip at 16ga, and the jewelry insert was a labret stud (to my later knowledge, 8mm post length). I realized it was too short, but even at this length it’s been bumping my teeth. Mostly on just the one closer to the middle of my lip, but the other has been bumping against it too occasionally.
However, at the same time the back of my lip is starting to “eat” the inside disc of the stud. So, there seems to be no solution, more bumping against my teeth or not have my lip “eat” it. I purchased implant grade labret studs (10mm in length), and after 2 weeks I switched them out by myself with no problem. There is still the little indent in my lip in a circle around the piercings where the discs slip neatly into, and fit into my lip some. So, even with the 10mm post length jewelry it’s still pocketing into my lip, and also hitting my teeth more. I don’t want my teeth to move, or get a receding gum over this issue.
I know CBRs are frowned upon for healing, but in this situation is this something I should switch out to to fix both problems or is it more likely I just need to get the whole thing pierced?
I’ve had them pierced for 2 weeks, the swelling is gone, and there is no signs of irritation or infection other than the irritation caused by my lip growing over the labret backing.
Any help would be greatly appreciated, thank you!
As with so many questions that show up here, seeing these piercings would make it much easier to make suggestions. Since that isn’t an option, please bear with me if I’m only able to advise you in more general terms.
It sounds like you made a good call getting longer jewlery in your piercings, Even though they may bump against your teeth a bit more, it’s very likely you would have ended up having to remove your piercing had the disks sunk into you lip. At the very least, this would have caused additional swelling and you would have had to put even longer jewelry in your piercings.
Unfortunately, length of the stud vs. how it hits your teeth and gums is very often one of those things you have to deal with at first with new lip piercings. Oftentimes many of those issues can be eliminated with good placement, but I can’t speak to that in your particular case.
Keep in mind that your piercings are still very new, being only two weeks old. It’s likely, that in anoher week or so, you may be able to put the 8mm studs back into your piercings (again, I can’t see, so I can’t say for sure). That would probably help with the teeth issue. Also, depending upon what sort of jewelry you have access to, once your piercings are a few months old, you should be able to change to studs that have smaller disks…which would help with the teeth issue.
Best of luck.
0 / 0 votes
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Posted by Derek Lowe | Permalink | Comments
Thursday May 29th, 2008 @ 4:52 PM
Though I am an ‘impulse pieree’, as I like to think of it, I always make up for my split second decisions with research after the fact. Bad, I know.
I got a vertical labret piercing a week ago, and it is my favorite piercing. There was no swelling, blood, tenderness, or pain at all- even my tongue was worse. Yet I have seen several forums that claim that this piercing commonly rejects. However, as with most everything on the internet, whether or not this is true seems to vary.
Unfortunately this has made me very paranoid, to the point where I am checking it several times a day. So, I’ll ask the experts: do vertical labret piercings reject often? Also, I’ve seen some people mention it depends on whether ones anatomy is suited for it- my piercer did not say anything about this. Where should the piercing sit to lesson the risk of rejection?
Thanks for your help.
I wouldn’t say that vertical labret piercings reject very often. In fact, I’d go so far as to say it’s pretty uncommon. That assumes, of course, that the anatomy is well-suited for the piercing to begin with. Fortunately, most lips are pretty well suited for vertical labret piercings. Lips that are very thin and/or flat are often not good candidates for vertical labret piercings, but I have seen them work out on lips I was almost-postive they would reject on.
So, if your piercing seems to be doing well at this point, I really wouldn’t waste a lot of time and energy on worrying about it rejecting. If it’s going to reject, there likely isn’t anything you can do about it anyway.
Kick back. Relax. Don’t stress. Enjoy the hell out of your new piercing!
4 / 4 votes
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Posted by Derek Lowe | Permalink | Comments
Sunday May 25th, 2008 @ 11:57 PM
HELP! About 6 months ago I purchased an 18 qauge 1/4 inch labret/monroe stainless steel piece on jewelry that was just perfect for my monroe. It has a micro gem (about 1mm to 1.5mm wide) and it was a “push in” jewel rather than an internal or external screw. I do remember it was at least $30 but my computer crashed and I no longer have the link. Can anyone help me? I’ve been searching for days and cannot find anyone who sells the. Painful Pleasures sells something similar but the interior flatback is much wider than the original one I purchased. My original is about 2.5mm wide while the Painful Pleasure piece is 4mm. Unfortunately I cannot wear bioplast so it has really become a problem to find a good piece of jewelry now. Thanks!
What it sounds like, is that you have a NeoMetal Threadless Labret. To make the statement a bit more accurate it should be Titanium not Stainless Steel, as NeoMetal strictly deals with Implant Grade Titanium (ASTM F136 6Al-4V ELI Titanium).
There are only a small handful of online jewelry retailers that offer this type of jewelry, however my suggestion is to perhaps visit your local piercing studio and request a custom order of the NeoMetal jewelry. There are a lot of reputable studios that carry that type of jewelry or if for some reason they don’t, it shouldn’t be hard for them to order it in for you. As realistically the price shouldn’t really be more than $30 for the jewelry, if anything you might pay a couple extra dollars for the shipping.
Perhaps if you let us know where you’re located we can help you track down a studio that carries the jewelry or will be willing to get it for you.
1 / 1 votes
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Posted by Warren Hiller | Permalink | 7 Comments
Wednesday May 21st, 2008 @ 8:36 PM
what size rings should i get for my snaked bites so the hoops are tight on my lip… i was thinking 5/16″ diamtere, like 8mm. im wondering before i order soemthing, does that size make any sense? im wanting seam rings but regular ball closure rings is fine. cuzi tried on a hoop that i measured to be 9 mm (inside diameter) but i cant get the ball on its really hard plus i only have one. okay thank you!!!!!!!!!!
Visit a piercer and ask them to measure your lip and they will advise on what size your piercing is best suited to. Everyone has different sized lips and differently placed piercings - it’s a bit like asking what size shoes to get.
2 / 12 votes
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Posted by Tiff Badhairdo | Permalink | Comments
